On this day against all predictions, Arsenal beat Man C in the cup final

Compiled by Tony Attwood

• Day by Day the videos – An Arsenal video for (almost) every day of the year in order. 
• Day by Day the stories– a key moment in Arsenal and footballing history for each day of the year
• Details of our other series can be found on the home page

Today’s headline comes from 2017

23 April 1898: Last appearance for John Caldwell.  He then moved on with two other players to Brighton United.  He played 93 times in the League for Woolwich Arsenal and scored twice.

23 April 1902: Arsenal 0 Tottenham 0. Southern Professional Charity Cup.  Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901 but were not in the Football League, so this competition was an opportunity for the two old rivals to meet.

23 April 1908: Aberdeen 1 Woolwich Arsenal 1 (crowd: 4000).  It was one of nine games played in 10 days by Arsenal on their Scottish tour.

23 April 1910: Arsenal’s season ended with a 1-3 home defeat to Preston.  Arsenal finished 18th in the league with the 19th and 20th clubs being relegated.  Chelsea gained two points fewer than Arsenal but had a better goal average so the finish was nail biting to the last.  This would have been Arsenal’s last ever match had Henry Norris not stepped in to re-finance the club.

23 April1913: Robert (“Bobby”) Davidson born.  He played for Saint Johnston against Arsenal in a friendly in September 1934 and was selected for the Scottish League team a few weeks later.  Arsenal offered £4,000 and on 1st February 1935 he moved to Arsenal.

23 April 1914: Although as yet not officially sanctioned, Arsenal played their first match under the new name of “The Arsenal”.  The board accepted the special resolution to officially change the name but the name was not formally changed on 10 May 1915.

23 April 1917: Laurie Scott born.  He was signed by George Allison for Arsenal in 1937 and was changed from being a winger to being a right back, and after the war emerged in the first team at the start of the 1946-7 season.

23 April 1918: In Ireland’s general strike all work stopped, even in the government’s munitions factories, as rallies took place across Ireland.  There was, as can be imagined, considerable dismay and alarm in Whitehall, not least because the government were warned by its head of mobilation (Henry Norris, chair of Arsenal) that this would happen.

23 April 1921: Tottenham won the FA Cup for the second time (having previously won it in 1901).  They had also won the Southern League in 1900 and the 2nd Division in 1920, making a total of four trophies.  Arsenal had, by this stage, won none.

23 April 1927: Arsenal’s first FA Cup Final – Arsenal lost to Cardiff 0-1 at Wembley.  The crowd of 91,206 was the largest thus far to see an Arsenal game.  This was also the first cup final broadcast on radio.

23 April 1932: Arsenal’s 3rd cup final, losing 1-2 to Newcastle.  It was a season of being runner’s up as Arsenal also came second in the First Division. A video of the final is available via the link above.

23 April 1937: Preston were heading for the double when Arsenal beat them 3-1 away on this day, with two from Carr and one from Bastin.

23 April 1962: Arsenal achieve a 2-2 draw against Ipswich before a record crowd of 30,649 at Portman Road on Good Friday. Hundreds of fans were locked out and many hung precariously from the floodlight pylons. John MacLeod got Arsenal’s first goal and Eastham the second with a spectacular overhead bicycle kick.

23 April 1966: Arsenal 1 Sunderland 1.  After only 8,738 attended the previous home game 25,699 turned up to see relegation threatened Sunderland whom Arsenal had beaten away three days before.

23 April 1966: The decline of interest in Arsenal was emphasised by the fact that on the same day as Arsenal were playing Sunderland, Northampton managed by ex-Arsenal man Dave Bowen got a crowd of 24,523 into their 3 sided ground, despite heading for relegation.

23 April 1997: Dennis Compton CBE died on the first day of the new cricket season.  Flags at cricket clubs were flown at half mast and later the MCC named the stand at the Nursery End at Lords after him.

23 April 1980: Arsenal became the first British club to win at Juventus in a competitive match, the score being 1-0. The scorer was Paul Vaessen who gained immediate fame but was unable to develop his career due to injury.  More information here.

23 April 1994: Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 2.  Ian Wright scored two goals to end the season with 23 league goals, but with no chance of Arsenal ending higher than fourth the season fell away in the remaining three games.

23 April 2000. Arsène Wenger criticised the FA for allowing Man U a winter break from the league and a non-appearance in the FA Cup in order to play in a Fifa confederations competition.

23 April 2000: Arsenal beat Watford 3-2 away.  It was part of a run of 12 consecutive wins  in which Arsenal scored 29 goals.

23 April 2017: Against the prediction of every pundit, Arsenal beat Manchester City 2-1 at Wembley to reach the FA Cup Final.  Man City had five players booked as Alexis and Monreal scored in Arsenal’s 29th, record beating, semi-final appearance.  20 of those 29 semis had now been won – yet another record.

23 April 2021: Arsenal lost 0-1 at home to Everton.  It meant that Arsenal had won just four games in the last 13.   Arsenal stayed ninth in the league.

23 April 2022: Arsenal had their highest home attendance of the season of 60,223 against Manchester United. Having beaten Chelsea 4-2 away in the previous match Arsenal now won 3-1. It was part of a run of four successive wins which gave the club hope of returning to the Champions League.